THE POLICE and Crime Commissioner has commented on figures highlighting the contribution made by taxpayers to Merseyside Policing.

The Police Federation of England and Wales said it was disappointing to see police and crime commissioners "choose to take more money from local residents" when "the cost of living is still biting hard on many".

Home Office figures show council taxpayers will have to shell out £103 million to fund Merseyside Police in 2024-25 – a real-terms rise of 5% from the £99 million paid the year before.

This is equivalent to 23% of the whole funding for policing in Merseyside and the highest figure since local records began in 2015-16.

In total, Merseyside Police will receive £452 million – up from £417 million in 2023-24.

The Government will supply the additional £349 million.

Steve Hartshorn, PFEW national chair, said: "It is disappointing to see PCCs yet again having to choose to take more money from local residents who have already paid for policing in taxes at a time when the cost of living is still biting hard on many, especially the recent energy cost increases.

He warned the current method "continues a postcode lottery of funding".

"Those areas that can least afford to pay extra will suffer unless funds are apportioned according to the needs of the public.

"Policing should not be a postcode lottery where the most in need are often the least supported," he added.

Across England and Wales, the funding for all police forces has risen in real terms from £15.6 billion in 2023-24 to £16.6 billion for 2024-25.

A third of that, or £5.7 billion, will be provided through council tax – up from £5.3 billion the year before.

Commenting on the findings, Merseyside’s Police and Crime Commissioner Emily Spurrell said: “The last thing I wanted to do was to increase council tax at a time when many household budgets are stretched, but my hands were tied by the previous Government.

“For years, successive Conservative Home Secretaries factored into their budget plans that local people would pay more for policing. That left me with no choice. If I had not asked for the increase, Merseyside Police would have had to make even bigger cuts in the year ahead and frontline services would have been in jeopardy.

“Even with the hugely valuable contribution of local people, we are having to use money from our reserves and the Chief Constable still needs to find £3.9m of savings in the year ahead just to balance the books. That figure soars to £20.9m of savings by 2028/29 and this is all while Merseyside Police remains 450 officers short of the number it had in 2010.

“I am focused on doing everything possible to protect Merseyside Police so they can keep our communities safe. Years of insufficient funding have made this job extremely difficult. While I absolutely agree it should not be local taxpayers picking up the bill, I was forced to make this this decision to protect our police service.

“I am in close communication with our new Government and will continue to lobby for greater investment in Merseyside Police and a funding formula which recognises the unique demands of our region.”

A Home Office spokesperson said: "It is this government's mission to take back our streets and have committed to delivering 13,000 extra neighbourhood police and community support officers, tackle anti-social behaviour and introduce tougher powers to tackle repeat offending.

"Funding beyond 24-25 will be confirmed in the upcoming multi-year Spending Review. However, this government remains committed to ensuring that the police have the resources they need to tackle crime effectively."